Hopes for Alzheimer’s skin test

SCIENTISTS believe a quick and painless skin test for Alzheimer’s disease could be developed in five years.

The test would allow the disease, the most common form of dementia, to be identified at an early stage when drugs are more effective at slowing its progress.

Currently, the disease can only be diagnosed using psychiatric assessments or during a post mortem.

Researchers in the United States have discovered enzymes that react abnormally only in the skin of Alzheimer’s patients.

Up to 40,000 people in Ireland suffer from dementia and more than 60,000 are expected to develop the condition by 2020. About two-thirds of people with dementia have Alzheimer’s Disease, a progressive degenerative condition that destroys the brain cells.

Spokeswoman for the Alzheimer Society of Ireland Sarah O’Callaghan said early diagnosis meant that treatment options to stabilise and manage symptoms were more beneficial to both people with the condition and their families.

“Early diagnosis also means that the person themselves can put in place personal, legal, financial and health plans,” she said.

People with concerns about Alzheimer’s disease can contact the Alzheimer Society of Ireland’s helpline at 1800341341 or go to www.alzheimer.ie.